Interview_YiTing

Yi-Ting Liu graduated from the Department of Electrical Engineering at National Changhua University of Education(NCUE) with the same expectation as all his to-be engineer classmates. Engineers’ path is quite straightforward; continue to graduate program for engineer master degree, doing research and development, and spend the rest of the work life in a sterile room in the technology industry. This had been the plan for most of his classmates while they were discussing in the school lab back then. Yi-Ting then started to imagine whether that is the life he wanted. The salary is generally the main drive for working in such an environment, but is it really the best choice for his life decision? Needed more time to think after graduation, he decided to give up his enrollment at the National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) and chose to complete his mandatory military service.

Not long after he finished his duty, Yi-Ting went to Indonesia to visit his relatives. There he found out that his cousins could speak both Chinese and English fluently, in which was impressive for him seeing people speak not only second but even the third language in such level. Yi-Ting was motivated to learn English and asked for suggestions. At first, relatives agreed that going to a language school in English speaking country like America, UK, or Australia is the best option. However, his cousin argued considering to go to those countries while also pursuing a master degree – hitting two birds with one stone. Yi-Ting could not agree more to the latter. He then applied for Nottingham Trent University (NTU) in England.

Going to NTU with an engineering background was difficult for him to catch up the business knowledge at the beginning. Every specific business terminology that came up in the class just went straight over his head. Fortunately, that situation did not make him lose his motivation, by putting extra learning time in the library every day, reviewing school subjects and reading online articles, he eventually got to understand the class discussions and terms been used in the case study. Touching numerous fields of business, the course that changed Yi-Ting’s perception was human resource management. As an engineering college student, he thought human resource department’s task is only working for talent recruitment, however, he then learned that it is responsible for more other things such as performance evaluation, company’s fees, and benefits, training and workshop, and many more until the workers leave the company. Impressed by the truth, Yi-Ting wanted to dig deeper into this area and asked for his NTU professor’s suggestion. That is how he heard NSYSU’s GHRM MBA has an English professor teaching human resource at master level. Without a doubt, Yi-Ting came back to his home country Taiwan to obtain a dual degree from NSYSU.

The fact is, the reality is not always as beautiful as expected. Having an extra degree does not guarantee to get his dream position and the desired salary in the UK, Yi-Ting finally decided to move back to Taiwan to gain more experience. At first, Yi-Ting works for a technology company for recruiting, his works mainly focus on gather all applicant’s information and integrated it into a report in order to present to his manager. Being as a talented employee, Yi-Ting soon got an offer from Digiwin Company, and he then decided to work for Digiwin. Yi-Ting felt he’s lucky because  his manager was also graduated from NSYSU, and are willing to teach him with his own experience.

Yi-Ting realized there are some quite differences between common HR practices in the UK and in Taiwan, and he hopes Taiwan’s HR will keep improving by the time going.

Interview_Vincent

Vincent started his degree in the Labor Relations Department (College of Social Science) at National Chung Cheng University (NCCU). Realizing his deep interest in human resource managing, Vincent then decided to pursue a master's degree in human resource. GHRM MBA Program was his first choice since it provides a full English program and has been known for its diverse community with students and professors from almost all continents. Being in such environment, Vincent did not want to lose any opportunities that NSYSU offered. He did not only complete his exchange program to Switzerland, but he also found an internship at E. Sun commercial Bank. In his opinion, it is one of the best decisions he ever made in his academic life. Working with professionals at E.Sun Commercial Bank allowed Vincent to comprehend the practical side of human resource management. He mentioned that the experience he had in E.Sun bank gave him a chance to build a solid foundation for his future in HR.

In addition, his five semesters in NSYSU was filled by numerous group projects and interactions with classmates from various nations. That played a big role to practice thinking structurally, strengthen his language ability, and broaden his global perception. For instance, sometimes foreigners even understand more Taiwanese culture and sightseeing places than the locals. They are willing to blend themselves into the culture and are brave to explore different places. Hearing their impressions about Vincent’s home country made him understand the differences in mindset, culture, and lifestyle outside Taiwan.

“Some have said that finding a job in Taiwan is not easy. However having an MBA degree with the name NSYSU on it, helps”, he said. NSYSU is such a well-known university in Taiwan. Therefore it indirectly helps the graduates to be a step ahead from other candidates. As a Senior Specialist in BenQ he explained, now it all depends on how much effort the graduates put to prepare themselves to be stand out amongst others. That can be done by collecting meaningful records. Lots of university students spend their time by doing what they are fond of, which is totally fine. However, instead of playing without a record, Vincent strongly suggests that students should participate in events that can be recognized and with records. It may help the graduates enrich their resume.

Again, it all depends on the effort one puts. Vincent emphasized hardly on commitments. Although it may take much time, for him, doing and believing that this journey would be a success, will lead to the best destination in the future!

Interview with Yulya Balkhanova – alumna of GHRM English MBA Program.

Ms. Yulya Balkhanova is from Russia and she has been in Taiwan for almost 7 years now. Yulya got her bachelor’s degree in National Chung Cheng University (NCCU) in Chiayi and immediately decided to continue her studies at NSYSU’s GHRM English MBA Program. One of friends, who studied at NSYSU, often invited Yulya to Kaohsiung to visit the city and once after visiting NSYSU campus, Yulya decided to come back here for master’s degree.

“The best thing about NSYSU and GHRM English MBA Program is the opportunity to meet people from different cultures and work with them as a team. I’ve met many interesting people and had lots of fun communicating with them. My favorite subjects were Professor David McConville’s “Work and Culture” and “Independent Studies”. Both courses are very practical and have helped me with many things such as resume writing and team working. I didn’t have that many difficulties, but if I had a problem, Cindy and Natasha always helped me a lot and for that I’m very grateful.” – share her experience Yulya. Besides her studies, Yulya and her friends took a part in international food market – sold some self-made Russian food.

Yulya says she would definitely recommend GHRM English MBA Program, because you learn things you can later apply at your workplace, also meet many different people, learn how to be a part of a team, and finally make friends.

Now Yulya works in Taipei for a trading company, her position is a Project Manager (with responsibilities including talking to customers and offering them best solutions for their needs, working with technical documentation, updating the contents of company’s website, etc.)

We are very glad and proud that our alumni are successful in finding jobs after they graduate from GHRM English MBA Program and wish Yulya and all other good luck.

Interview_Jessica Quan

Today we are glad to share a story of GHRM English MBA alumna Ms. Jessica Quan.

Jessica Florence Quan Chan was born in Guatemala, both of her parents are immigrants from Hong Kong, therefore she has rich background – mixture of Chinese and Guatemalan cultures.  Jessica studied Hotel and Restaurant Administration in her undergraduate studies. Her favorite hobbies are traveling, eating different type of food, hanging out with friends and chatting as well as watching TV dramas.

When Jessica was in Taipei, she started to search for universities that have the Human Resource Management master programs in Taiwan and found out that there are only two universities, one in Taipei and one in Kaohsiung. Jessica’s choice fell on NSYSU because the city has a great weather, sunshine and the beach is a part of University campus! She also wanted to improve her Mandarin speaking and studying in Taiwan provided her with opportunity to do so. After moving to Kaohsiung she found out that it was a big city, but very calm and peaceful, which made her fall in love.

Jessica remembers her time being a part of GHRM English MBA Program: “NSYSU cares a lot about the international students, they make you feel like home. Besides the people, the amazing view to the ocean is worth it. Lots of interesting classes: Organizational behavior, Human Resource Competency Development and Strategic Human Resource Management. These courses where focused on Human Resources, which is the main reason I wanted to study. These courses imply a lot on understanding the actions, behaviors, decisions of the people of an organization. It can help you to develop more abilities to understand the employees of an enterprise.”

Before coming to Kaohsiung, Jessica had a working experience – she was the executive receptionist at Westin Camino Real Hotel in Guatemala. “In Guatemala, if you have a foreign degree will increase the opportunity to be hired and if you have another language, it is another asset and beneficial for you. Obtaining a degree from one of the top 10 universities in Taiwan and top 100 worldwide, definitely gave me an extra point”. Now after having her master’s degree she is back home to Guatemala and is currently working as a manager in her family business and she acquired the necessary pack of knowledge and skills for being a good manager.

Jessica’s advice would be: “Enroll in the GHRM English MBA Program, study hard and enjoy every second!”